There Are Pandas, and Then There Are Pandas.
And this isn't either of them! The Pandas we're talking about here, are watches, not bears. And what got me thinking about them (again) was a link posted this morning by @cm.rook who pointed a few of us to the very attractive (and not terribly priced) Yema "Rallygraph" Panda which, in it's most traditional arrangement, looks like the one on the left, but can also be had in the version on the right: The model on the left is a true Panda, while the model on the right is called a reverse Panda. The reason for that distinction is clear--Panda bears, only come in the first arrangement. Now at this point, everyone should be thinking about the most well-know Panda, The Rolex Panda, which is actually a Daytona, and among Rolex Daytonas, the most famous of which is the Paul Newman Daytona, which was famous first, because it was Paul's, and second because it sold at auction for $17.8 million (US Dollars). The story of that auction is well-known so I'll only...
Nov 8, 2019
This is the best time of year to buy larger cuts of protein and use the entire thing. My favorite right now and one of the best budget options (especially if you're cooking for two) is a whole chicken. Butcher the legs off and make a simple braise flavored with tomato and serve it with polenta, roast the breasts and slice them with a coconut milk thai curry and some rice & then oven roast the bones to make a deep and flavorful chicken stock...
Take that stock, dice some root vegetables (celery root, carrot, parsnip, rutabaga), add some leftover shredded chicken, some hearty aromatics (garlic, parsley or thyme) and let that all simmer together for 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender. From there you can take it wherever you want! I like making dumplings and adding them to that fortified broth for a super simple chicken and dumplings. 3+ meals out of one bird, and depending on how you would make those braised legs or that Thai curry those could be "soup" too! All some of my favorites that my girlfriend and I definitely enjoy at home this time of year...